


In The Calm Nights of Winter

by morebeesthanyoucouldimagine



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Domestic Fluff, Ereri winter weekend 2016, Ice Skating, Love Confessions, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Mutual Pining, light angst in the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-08 19:10:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8857414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine/pseuds/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine
Summary: Levi is outraged when he finds out that in order for the Survey Corps to keep Eren, the Military Police is requiring him to be forced into an arranged marriage. He doesn't want Eren to lose any more of the freedom he's had to give up because of his titan powers. When Levi finds out that he's the one that they're forcing Eren to marry, he feels even worse. He'd been pining after Eren for so long and had finally accepted that Eren would probably never return his feelings. Now, he has to be the one to take this freedom away from Eren in order to protect him. But what happens when Eren confesses his love for his Captain. Will they manage to get a marriage of necessity to work out for them in more ways then expected?





	1. Warmth

Hanji stared down at the papers on the desk before them and sighed, they hated to be the deliverer of bad news. Well, perhaps not bad, rather difficult news.

They rubbed the bridge of their nose and jumped a bit in their chair when they heard a knock on their office door. Hanji knew who it was, and shouldn’t have been surprised, but they were simply too far gone in their thoughts to have been alert.

They got off their chair and walked across the creaking, tired wood floor and opened their office door slowly. “Eren, Mikasa, please come in.”

The soldiers nodded and followed their superior in. Hanji felt pity when she looked at him, he just seemed so tired and lost lately. They didn’t want Eren to suffer anymore, but fate always seemed to have other plans for him.

Eren and Mikasa took the seats in front of Hanji’s desk. They remained awkwardly silent until Eren coughed. After another pause, Mikasa spoke up. “What is this about squad leader Hanji?”

Hanji took a deep breath before explaining. “The military police claims that our original arrangement has ‘expired’. They wanted to create a new one.”

Eren didn’t react much, as if he had already expected the military police to go back on their promise. But Mikasa was understandably angry. “If they think they’re going to harm a single fucking hair on Eren’s head, they’re delusional.”

“Easy, Mikasa, we came to an agreement. It’s a bit more restrictive on Eren though.” Hanji leaned forward and patted Mikasa’s hand to try and calm her. It didn’t really work.

“What do you mean?” Eren spoke up, his eyebrows furrowing.

Hanji swallowed, it’s probably best to not beat around the bush about this. “Well, it’s uh...it’s an arranged marriage.”

“But, why?” The shifter’s voice caught in his throat a little, it hurt Hanji to hear it.

“It’s mostly to try and make it harder for you to reproduce. They worry about you having children who can also shift, since they believe that your titan powers are genetic.” Hanji explained. To them, the idea of Eren having children seemed adorable, but it would probably never happen.

“I don’t want you to have to marry some random person you’ve never met. I want you to marry someone you love.” Mikasa growled and glared at her superior, demanding Hanji to try and do something about it.

Hanji sighed, trying to prepare themselves for Mikasa’s reaction to the next piece of information. “Actually, Eren’s fiancé isn’t a total stranger. The Military Police thought that if they had Eren marry Levi, then Levi would be able to make sure you don’t take another lover.”Mikasa frowned but nodded. She didn’t exactly like Levi, but at least he wasn’t a total stranger and had occasionally shown a softer side for Eren.

“You’re to have a small wedding and a small reception this weekend. Please be on your best behavior.” Hanji glanced over at Mikasa rather than Eren for the last part. “Any questions?”

“No.” Eren whispered under his breath.

“You’re dismissed.” Hanji nodded to the door. “Just take it easy, alright?” They said as Eren and Mikasa stood to leave.

Eren stayed terribly quiet for the rest of the walk to the training grounds, Mikasa kept glancing over, trying to read her brother’s thoughts. She would have thought that Eren would have been ecstatic, but he looked afraid.

“Eren, are you alright? You look horrible.” Mikasa gently rested her hand on Eren’s shoulder.

“I’m just feeling awful.” He just shrugged her off and kept walking through the corridor.

Mikasa nodded in understanding and followed next to him. “Is it about the marriage? I thought you would have been happy with Levi-”

Eren cut his sister off out of slight embarrassment. “Mikasa, I wanted to be with him… it’s just…”

She pulled Eren into a tight embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. “I know.”

Eventually, Mikasa pulled away and they continued walking through the hallways. Their boots beat against the ground with a steady rhythm. The consistency was a small comfort, but Eren kept glancing out the window, as if he wanted to escape from all of this. She couldn’t blame him. Once they walked out of headquarters and on to the training grounds, Eren went off to train alone. Mikasa thought it would be good for him to work out some of his frustrations.

Meanwhile, Mikasa walked around trying to find Armin. She found him taking a little breather with a few other scouts. They must have either been through some more intense training, or they were trying to slack off. The later wasn’t really Armin’s style at all though. He smiled and waved as she approached, but quickly realized that something was wrong. She simply nodded her head back to the main building and left. Armin had known her long enough to know that was her way of asking to talk in private.

When he walked back into the headquarters, Mikasa startled him by pulling him off to the side. She quickly told him everything that Hanji had told him.

Armin kept silent and wrung his hands as Mikasa started to complain about their situation. “Since when has life been one shitstorm into the next?” She groaned with her head pressed against a wall.

Armin sighed behind her. “Since the moment we were born, Mikasa.”

She pulled her head off the wall and turned to look at her childhood friend. “I’m just worried about him.”

“Who, Eren or Levi?” Armin’s brows furrowed.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts before answering. “Both I guess, but mostly Eren.”

“Neither of them really deserve this, but it’s for the best in the long run.” He tried to console her.

Mikasa looked away, still unconvinced. “If you say so, Armin.”

 

* * *

 

Levi paced around Hanji’s office and tugged on his hair. “I don’t want this relationship forced onto him, Hanji.”

“I know, Levi, but this is keeping him safe.” His friend tried to reason. They didn’t like this one bit either, but it was necessary at this point. Hanji grabbed Levi by the shoulders to get him to stand still. “Just talk to him. Just because you’re forcibly married, doesn’t mean he can’t eventually fall in love with you.”

Levi only rolled his eyes. “Yeah right, because I’m loveable.”

“You are, Levi. Don’t deny it!” They giggled and poked his nose.

Levi’s face didn’t change too much, but Hanji saw a little sparkle in Levi’s eyes. At least they had been able to cheer him up a little but. “I will too deny it, and I’ll do it just to spite you.”

“That’s the Levi I know and love. And you wanna know why I love you? Because you’re loveable, you short little gremlin.” Hanji squeezed Levi hard enough to make him wheeze.

 

* * *

 

Eren’s mood had turned around on the day of the wedding. The wedding was going to be a small ordeal, with only their squad and a few military police members to oversee it. The small, wooden chapel felt empty and unwelcoming, but Eren didn’t seem to mind. He was getting married to someone he loved with all of his heart, it didn’t matter where he was.

“I’m excited, but so nervous.” Eren smiled as he looked in the mirror admiring the dress he was loaned for the occasion.

Mikasa looked Eren up and down and was surprised by how nicely he pulled off the ratty old dress he was given. The military police had chosen it for him, probably as a joke, but Eren wanted to wear it nonetheless. And damn he looked good in it.

“Don’t work yourself up, just stay calm.” Armin reminded him as he handed him a bouquet of flowers that Mikasa and Armin had picked for him that morning.

“You look so handsome, Eren.” Mikasa sighed, the military police may have had them at a shitty chapel, with shitty clothing, but her brother still seemed as bright as the sun in her eyes.

“Careful, Mikasa, I’m taken.” Eren grinned and ran his fingers through his hair to tidy it up as well as he could.

“You’re a dork, that’s what you are.” His sister grinned and held out her arm.

Eren hooked his arm with hers and walked to the door that lead to the main part of the chapel. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“You’re welcome.” She whispered, waiting for their cue to open the door and walk her brother down the aisle.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hanji, I don’t want him to be forced into this! When I look into his eyes I’m always going to be reminded that I was the one that took this freedom away from him.” Levi stared into his mirror. While Eren was to wear a dress, he had to wear his normal uniform. He hated everything it could possibly symbolise. He didn’t want this marriage to look like Eren was being tied down while he would simply remain as Eren’s Captain. It wasn’t fair at all to Eren.

Hanji sighed and straightened his cravat. “Levi, that’s not true. It was the military police that forced you two into this scenario, both of your freedoms were stripped here. If you two don’t get married, Eren might be executed. What kind of freedom will he have when he’s dead?”

“As always, you’re right.” Levi resigned and took his place on the altar.

No music was playing as Eren walked down the aisle with his sister. There was no flower girl throwing rose petals. All there was was his squad looking at Eren with pity and the military police on the other side of the aisle giggling at Eren. This wasn’t a wedding at all. They could have simply signed the legal wedding papers and had it over with. No, this was just something the military police set up to humiliate Eren. He deserved so, so much better.

While Levi’s heart ached, Eren’s soared as he saw his husband-to-be on the altar. The fact that he was only wearing his uniform, made Eren a little sad. It only served to remind him this was not a wedding of love, but necessity.

Eren took Levi’s hands and gazed into his silver eyes and could only see sadness. Eren’s hopes faltered when he saw what looked like shame and regret in Levi’s expression. He could feel tears pricking his own eyes as the priest went on and on. Levi noticed Eren’s tears and started to fidget uncomfortably.

Eren was lost in his thought, trying to not look into Levi’s eyes, but not blatantly at anything else. He was startled a bit when Levi started to say the vows that were written for him by the military police. “I will protect you. I will keep you safe from anything that tries to hurt you. I will keep you loyal to the oaths you have sworn to.”

Eren took a deep breath before replying with his own vows. He had entertained the idea of saying his own vows before, but since Levi was following the initial plan, Eren felt like it was even less of an option than before. “I will always remain loyal. I will not hurt you.”

The few military police soldiers snickered again, and Eren just wanted to disappear. He wanted to be anywhere but at his own wedding. This was starting to get painful and he was such a fucking fool for thinking this would end well.

“You may now kiss the titan.” Both of them were hurt by the priest’s words. Eren was so much more than just a mindless titan, they both knew that. Levi’s brows furrowed even more and gave Eren a pitiful look before gently pressing his lips to Eren’s cheek. Levi took Eren’s hand and lead him down the aisle and away from the laughing military police. Their squad on the other side remained silent. Not a single celebratory cheer. Sasha gave Eren a smile to try and ease the pain a little.

Eren trained his eyes forward and did his best to block out the mocking laughter. Thankfully the military police wouldn’t be attending the reception.

 

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you got married before I did. Some wedding, huh...” Jean sat down next to Eren, handing him a mug of beer. The reception was actually rather nice, it was like a party between close friends. They had some alcohol, Sasha and Connie baked a cake together, and Hanji even brought some really nice meat. It had been a while since Eren had eaten something that luxurious.

Eren sighed as he looked over at his husband who was talking to Hanji on the other side of the room. “I was kinda hoping he would at least be more neutral about it, it looked like he was going to cry.”

“Eren, remember that he has as little choice in this as you do. He’s probably really uncomfortable with this too. But I don’t think he looked so awful because he was marrying you. I’m pretty sure he felt bad for you.” Jean offered a rare sincere smile to Eren to try and cheer him up. He may act like an ass to Eren, but deep down he deeply cared about that suicidal bastard.

Eventually Armin and Mikasa joined Eren too, trying to make Eren happier. They started drunkenly singing and dancing, and eventually Eren forgot why he was even sad before. Hanji was having fun watching him, but Levi took the distraction as an opportunity to sneak out and have some time to be alone and think.

He stepped out of headquarters and into the frigid winter night. His breath came out in little white puffs as he stared up at the moon.

He wished he knew how to fix all of this and make Eren happier about their arranged marriage.

 

* * *

 

A few days after the wedding, Eren was just finishing up his daily cleaning as Levi approached him and coughed to get his attention.

“Yes, husband?” The shifter smiled, he was only joking, but the wince on Levi’s face made him regret using that pet name immediately.

“Here.” The Captain pressed a folded up piece of paper into Eren’s hands and walked off, not meeting Eren’s confused gaze. Eren blinked before unfolding the paper and reading Levi’s beautiful handwriting.

“Eren,

Due to our unwilling marriage. I felt it was necessary to draft someone of a contract between us sharpening the unclear lines of this whole shitfest. In public, we must keep up the act of an honest couple. In private, however, we don’t need to act like shit.

While I plan on taking no fuck buddies, I have no problems with you taking a few, so long as they don’t tip off the military police. I don’t expect this to be sexual, romantic, or even platonic in nature. We had no say in this, let's not make it harder on ourselves.

The original arrangement had us moving in together. This will not be happening. You will still live in the Survey Corps headquarters indefinitely. If you wish, you can continue to wear the wedding band. I will not be wearing mine. You will also not be taking my last name.

While in public, our fake displays of affection in public will not surpass hand holding. We will not use any pet names, but you may refer to me on a first name basis. And if someone tries to get too nosy about the marriage, tell them off.

This marriage is a sham, let's not pretend like it’s anything more than that.

-Levi”

Eren’s heart shattered into cold shards as he read the letter. He felt tears in the corners of his eyes as he tore up the paper.

Eren leaned up against a window and looked out at the courtyard, mulling over his thoughts. For the last few years Levi had been occupying them. Before this marriage he liked to daydream about his Captain, now it just felt like a dull nightmare.

“So, how’s your husband doing?” Mikasa startled him as she rested her hand on her brother’s shoulder.

Eren let out a deep breath and shook his head. “I don’t fucking know.”

“What do you mean?” Her eyebrows crinkled and tried to look into Eren’s eyes to get a better idea of how he was feeling. His eyes were always so damn expressive, it’s like he was an open book.

“He hasn’t properly spoken to me in weeks! He hasn’t even looked me in the eyes in days.” Eren muttered angrily and walked down the hallway, Mikasa following beside him.

“He’s just taking a while to come around, probably…”

“Mikasa, look at this.” Eren growled and handed her the torn pieces of the letter Levi gave him. She took a while to read it, her eyes following along the lines of the paper. When she was done she gave Eren a pitying look.

“Does this make you angry or just sad?” She asked calmly, trying not to get Eren more riled up than he already was.

It didn’t work. “Both! Neither! I’m not sure anymore!” He all but screeched.

“Eren, it’s alright-” Mikasa raised her hands and grabbed her brother’s shoulders.

Eren tried to shake her off and growled. “No, it’s not. I’m married to the man I love with all my heart, but he will never, ever love me back.” He pulled away from her and kept stomping down the halls.

“You don’t know that.” Mikasa sighed and caught up to him.

“That paper practically says he’s going to cheat on me the first chance he gets.”

“Eren, that’s not what it says. Right here he said that he has no interest in another lover.”

“He’s just saying that.” Eren rolled his eyes, and ran his hand through his hair.

“Eren, Levi’s not a bad person. He probably just wants to make this easier on you. He probably had no idea that it would affect you like this!” The Ackerman tried to reason. “So, you need to go talk to him!”

Eren pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a shallow breath. “How can I talk to him if he won’t even stay in the same room as me?”

Mikasa pulled Eren into a hug to make him feel better. “Just go visit him in his office, I doubt he’ll run away from you there.”

“Dammit, why are you always right.” He let out a heavy breath and continued to walk down the hall alone.

 

* * *

 

Levi glared down at the papers in his hand, squinting a little as the words started to blur together. He needed a break. He rubbed his eyes as he dropped the pile onto his desk and leaned back in his chair. He had made good progress today, but not enough, and yet he couldn’t find enough energy to finish his work, let alone enough to care.

A quiet rapping on his office door pulled him from his tired thoughts. He pushed himself out of his uncomfortable chair and opened the door to see Eren on the other side. Part of him wanted to close the door that moment, but he would at least hear what Eren had to say.

Eren took a breath through his nose and let it out unevenly. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Granted.” Levi turned around and walked back to the desk, he might not care about his paperwork, but he still needed to get it done.

“Why the fuck have you been ignoring me?” Eren snapped, startling Levi a bit.

“I haven’t been ignoring you.” The captain muttered, keeping his eyes trained to his work, he couldn’t even look Eren in the eyes.

Eren fumed, and balled his hands into fists. “Yes you have! You aren’t even looking at me right now.”

“Just because I’m focusing on paperwork doesn’t mean I’m ignoring you.”

Eren could feel tears prick his eyes. This marriage ruined his relationship with Levi so much, he wished it could just go back to the way it was. “Why did I have to fall in love with a man like you.”

Levi stood up frantically and knocked over a bottle of ink. Normally he would have cleaned that up first, but now Eren was more important. “What...what did you say?”

“You heard me.” Eren snarled and turned to leave.

“Eren, wait!” His husband ran after him and grabbed his arm. His eyes were wide and disbelieving. Eren just growled in irritation.

“What do you want, I’ve already embarrassed myself.” Eren shook his arm trying to get away from Levi, even though he came into the office to accuse Levi of the same thing.

But the shorter man wouldn’t accept this and grabbed Eren’s shoulders to get him to look at him. “Eren, I... I feel the same way-” Eren cut him off with a disbelieving scoff.

“Then why the fuck did you give me that contract that pushed me away?” He growled and tried to push Levi off.

Levi let Eren’s shoulders go, and grabbed Eren’s hands instead. “I didn’t want to push you away! I just wanted to let you be able to have a choice in this!”

“And by have a choice you mean any choice other than you.” Eren turned his head sharply away from his husband.

Levi grabbed Eren’s chin and looked into his beautiful eyes, begging for him to listen. “That’s not true, Eren. I just didn’t want to be the one to take away your freedom to choose who you love. I didn’t think for a moment that you might return my feelings, so I thought putting distance between us would help you to feel more comfortable with finding someone else.”

“I don’t want anyone else, how could you think for a moment that I would love anyone else? I thought I had made it pretty obvious over the years. I was the only one who laughed at your shit jokes!”

“You could throw a hint directly at my face, and I’d probably pick it up and hand it back to you before kicking your ass. I’m quite dense when it comes to these things, Eren…”

“Yeah, I am too, but we can make this work.” Eren smiled and took Levi’s hands and swung them back and forth gently. Levi blushed a little and looked away. “So, uh… the initial agreement made by the military police said that I was to move in with you…”

Levi’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that going a little fast?” He whispered gently.

Eren chuckled a bit and wrapped Levi up in his arms. “We’re already married, I think it’s perfectly acceptable.”

The captain’s eyes grew wide, but so did his smile. “Would you...would you like to?”

Eren brushed a stray hair out of Levi’s face as his heart fluttered. “I would love to, Levi.”

Levi nodded a bit as if to convince himself that this was actually happening. He pulled himself out of Eren’s arms and took his hand to lead him out of his office. They walked down the stone stairs together and to the main entrance.  Levi made sure his husband put on a coat before letting him walk out of the head quarters.

Most veterans who chose to have their own houses had to live close enough to base in case of emergencies. It allowed them to quickly get to base and gear up, but it also allowed them to be able to walk to and from work.

They walked side by for a while, until Eren reached out and took Levi’s hand. His Captain looked red in the face, but then again it was also cold as balls outside, so Eren wasn’t sure if he was the one who made Levi blush like crazy. He’d like to think so.

As the walked down the small little street, Levi seemed to get a little nervous. When Levi stopped in front of a tiny little house, he let out a little sigh and looked away. “I know it’s small, but a Survey Corps paycheck isn’t that much, even when you’re a Captain-”

“It’s lovely, Levi.” Eren cut him off as he took in how cute Levi’s house was. Perfectly tended bushes and flowerbeds, a little white fence, and Eren was pretty sure he could see a little birdhouse in the moonlight.

The shorter man unlocked the door and his husband followed him inside. He always left a candle by the front door, and reached around in the dark for it. He quickly lit it, allowing Eren to see what the inside of his house looked like. Much like his office, it felt empty, yet impeccably clean.

Eren smiled when Levi grabbed his hand and led him into a little living room. He helped Eren sit down on the sofa as he held the candle to the wood in the fireplace. Eren couldn’t help but grin when the fire caught and started to heat up the room.

His captain placed the candle down on a nearby table and snuggled up to his husband on the sofa. The sofa wasn’t that comfortable, but being with Eren made up for it.

“You’re so beautiful by the fire, Levi…” Eren whispered as he gently stroked Levi’s cheek and wrapped his other arm around Levi’s torso. Levi sighed, for once in content, as he melted in his husband’s arms. Eren took a deep breath before voicing the question that had been bothering him for the last few days. “If you...if you felt like this, why were your vows so cold, why did you write that letter?”

Levi pulled himself out of Eren’s arms so he could see Eren’s face clearly. “I didn’t think you would return my feelings, I thought me being the normal cold bastard that I am would comfort you.” Eren frowned a little and pulled Levi back against him.

“You’re not cold, Levi.” Eren mumbled against his lips.

The Captain blushed but shook his head. “Yes, I am. I’m a cold hearted old man.”

“You may be old, but you are the kindest, warm-hearted man I know.” The shifter ran his fingers through Levi’s hair gently and placed a few kisses on his forehead and cheeks.

Levi’s blush deepened and his eyebrow twitched, but he couldn’t hide the small little smile on his face. “Stupid asshole, making my heart feel things…”

“I love you.” Eren blurted out accidentally. Part of him wanted to run and hide out of embarrassment. , but he needed to stay to see how Levi would react. He felt his face heat up as Levi showed a rare, full grinn.

“Blush looks really good on you, Eren, and I love you too.” Levi smiled as Eren slotted their lips together. And finally, they both truly felt warm in a cold, cruel world.


	2. Blankets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor little Levi gets sick and his husband stays home to take care of him.

Eren rolled around in bed for a few minutes as he slowly woke up in the bed he shared with Levi. He didn’t want to drag himself out of bed and loose all the precious body heat he had saved up, but alas, he needed to.

He hauled himself out from under the blankets and shivered in the cold room. He quickly padded over to the wooden dresser that held both his and his husband’s clothes. He opened up the second drawer and smiled when he saw their clothes side by side. It had been a week since moving in and he still got giddy over every sign that it was actually real. 

He picked out a thick long sleeved shirt and buttoned it up. Then he pulled out some pants and tried to put them on, but he quickly realized they were actually Levi’s since they were so small, and sheepishly put them back before grabbing his actual pants and putting them on. Then he spent what felt like an hour putting all the straps on. There were many reasons to reconsider joining the military. The 3dmg straps were one definitely of them.

Before he slipped on his boots, he stumbled sleepily into their bathroom. He opened the curtains in order to see, and was a little disappointed to see there wasn’t any snow on the ground. He loved to walk with Levi in the snow. It was absolutely adorable to see his husband’s little nose turn pink from the cold. The rest of his face usually turned the same when Eren teased him about it. 

He turned to look in the mirror and rubbed his eyes a little before washing off his face. He turned off the faucet and grabbed his toothbrush. He spent a good long time brushing his mouth thoroughly, otherwise Levi might refuse to kiss him. He wouldn’t dare ask for a punishment like that, so he kept his teeth white and shiny. He ran a comb through his hair quickly before heading down stairs. 

He picked up his leather boots by the back door, and stepped out into the cold winter morning. He shivered and quickly ran back inside to grab his coat. He kept forgetting to put it on first. He should probably write himself a note and put it on the bathroom mirror, but he knows he’d forget it even if he did that. Eren buttoned up the military issued winter coat and stepped back outside. He locked the house door before stepping off the porch and walking along the trail up to head quarters. 

When he had moved in with Levi, he had hoped to spend the morning walks with his husband, but Levi usually got up incredibly early to go in and start working before Eren even got up. They both agreed that walking home together each night would be a better alternative. It also allowed Eren to have a nice quiet walk in the morning to just think and breathe. He couldn’t wait for spring to come, so he could see all the forest animals scurrying about, but for right now, he was content to see birds hopping from branch to branch. He always liked birds, and was delighted to hear Levi’s story about how he and his sister had healed a bird’s broken wing once. Levi and Eren both envied the fact that the birds would always be freer than they were.

Eren turned a few thoughts around in his head, trying to make his morning walk a little productive. He needed to think about what he could get Levi for his birthday. He wondered if getting a pet bird would be nice. He shot the idea down quickly, though. A bird would be rather noisy, messy, and caging one up would seem wrong to both of them.

He really needed to figure this out soon though. 

He eventually saw the headquarters come into view and hastened his pace. The dead foliage beneath him snapped and cracked as he ran, and his breath was ghostly as it froze before him. He glanced up at the white sky, it was quite cloudy and looked like it desperately wanted to snow. Perhaps he could walk home with his husband in the snow after all. 

It didn’t take long for him to reach the main door of the building, and he let himself inside, nearly moaning at the feeling of heat enveloping his body once more. He shivered again as he took off his coat and hung it with the others. He noticed that Levi’s wasn’t there and grew confused. He shrugged and thought Levi probably kept it on if he was cold enough. 

He ascended the stone stairs up to the second floor. He walked down the hallway, confused when he saw Levi’s office door shut. He rarely kept it shut unless he was working on something incredibly important or was having a confidential meeting. He usually kept it open so Hanji and Erwin could stop by and drop off some papers, or so scouts could come in and talk to him if they needed to.

Eren knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. He waited roughly two minutes, before opening the door to find the room empty. His brows furrowed and he closed the door and continued down the hall to Commander Erwin’s office. He peaked in and saw Hanji chatting his ear off. 

So, Levi wasn’t there either. 

He headed down stairs to the mess hall to get his meager breakfast. He smiled and waved at his fellow scouts as he entered, grabbed his food and sat down with Mikasa and Armin. They nodded sleepily to him and continued eating. The cold really kept everyone low on energy. 

“Hey, where’s the Captain?” Eren asked a minute or so into the meal. 

His friends gave him a strange look before Armin replied. “Wait, do you not know?” 

“We thought you of all people would know…” Mikasa nodded. Eren’s brows furrowed again, worried about his husband.

“Hanji sent him home, he’s sick.” Armin explained and took another bite of his stale bread. 

“Is he okay?” Eren wrung his hands under the table. Levi had seemed fine the day before. Sure he was a little bit quieter than usual, but other than that, he seemed fine.

Mikasa’s brows furrowed a bit in confusion. “It’s just a cold probably, but didn’t you notice how sick he was this morning when you two got up?” 

“Oh, he usually gets up before me and heads in early so he can get a headstart with his work.” Eren explained and shrugged before taking another bite of his breakfast. 

“Really, you don’t wake up snuggling next to him?” Jean sniggered and sat down next to Eren, and more importantly, across from Mikasa. 

“On the weekends we do.” Jean just rolled his eyes and acted like he didn't even ask. Truth was he was glad that Eren’s marriage was turning out well. “You’re just jealous, asshole.” Eren lightly kicked his friend under the table as Hanji approached them.

“Eren, would you mind staying with Levi for the day so that he might get better quicker?” They asked, well it was more like a statement, since they already knew that Eren wouldn’t say no.

“Of course!” Eren nodded and started to eat faster so he get get home quicker. 

“Make sure you grab some medicine from my office before you leave. Oh, and tell the shorty that I said he better get his ass healthy again soon!” Hanji nodded and hurried off to get back to their work. 

Once he finished his food, Eren quickly leaned over to hug Mikasa and Armin. “See you guys tomorrow.” 

“Just don’t get sick yourself!” Mikasa reminded him as her brother started to run out of the room.

“I won’t!” Eren reassured as he opened the mess hall doors and headed out. He grabbed his winter coat from by the back door and quickly threw it around his frame. He stepped out of the head quarters and started to sprint back to their house. He didn’t take the time to enjoy the lovely winter scenery. All that mattered was getting to Levi and making sure that he was okay and healthy. 

Eren fished the key out of his pocket when he got back to the house and let himself in. He hung up his coat next to Levi’s and took off his boots. He rubbed his hands together as he walked through the hall into their living room. The fireplace was blazing so Eren assumed his husband was curled up on the couch. “Levi…?” He called out and approached the sofa. Eren put his hand on the back of the sofa and leaned forward and saw that Levi wasn’t there.

He frowned and left the living room, walking across the hallway into the kitchen. “Babe…?” Eren called and poked his head in. Levi wasn’t there either. Eren opened a cabinet and pulled out a pot to make some soup for his husband later, before leaving the room.

He opened the door to Levi’s home office and saw the paperwork hadn’t been touched. He was both relieved that Levi wasn’t pushing himself to work, but also worried because that’s where Levi usually was. He closed the door before heading upstairs. 

He gently opened the bedroom door and quietly called out, “Sweetheart…?” Eren heard his husband groan. “There you are…” He let out a sigh of relief and made his way over to the bed. “Made me worried…” Eren shook his head and sat down next to Levi. He gently stroked Levi’s hair and pulled back the blanket a bit so Levi could talk. “How are you feeling…?”

“Terrible.” Levi croaked out. Eren tried to hold back a cringe, but it sounded really bad. He grabbed the tissue box from the night stand and held it in his lap

“Then why’d you go into work?” He tucked a few stray hairs behind Levi’s ear and handed him a tissue when he started to sniffle.

Levi took the tissue and blew his nose and winced. “Titans don’t stop for sicknesses…”

“Well humans do.” Eren rolled his eyes and patted his husband’s head. “Just rest a bit, I’m going to make you some tea and soup.”

Eren got up and left the room silently to let Levi rest. He shook his head at his husband’s stubbornness and walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen. He pulled out the best vegetables they had and a little bit of the chicken they had. Levi would be fussing that Eren wasted something as valuable as meat on him while he was sick, but damn it, Eren needed his husband to get better soon.

He carefully sliced up the carrots, celery, onions, and a few potatoes and put them into the pot he had gotten out earlier. He took the pot over to the sink and filled it up with water and let it sit on the stove while he took out the kettle from one of the cabinets and filled it with water as well. He placed it on the stove next to the soup.

While the kettle and the pot heated up, Eren pulled out a little tray and placed a little plate, a soup bowl, and one of Levi’s favorite tea cups on it. Once he was done with that, he bounced on his toes and waited for something to boil. The kettle let out it’s hideous song, and Eren hastily removed it from the stove and poured the water into a tea pot. He opened a cabinet and pulled out some nice herbal tea. It wasn’t Levi’s favorite, but Eren didn’t want Levi to be energized by black tea. The poor baby needed to be sleeping.

While the tea was steeping, the soup came to a boil and Eren added the chicken he had cut up earlier. He threw in some spices for taste, even though he knew Levi wouldn’t be able to taste anything due to his cold. He waited a bit for the chicken to cook thoroughly and used a ladle to put it into Levi’s bowl. He grabbed the tea cup and poured Levi some tea before loading the tray back up and picking it up carefully.

He walked slowly and gently as he walked up the stairs, stopping whenever the soup nearly sloshed over the side of the bowl. When the soup settled, he continued in a cautious fashion. Eventually, he made his way into the bedroom. 

He placed the tray on their dresser before walking over to the bed. Levi’s eyes fluttered open with a groan when Eren sat down next to him on the bed. “Let me help you sit up…” Eren whispered as he pulled the blankets away and placed a hand on Levi’s back to help him. Eren grabbed his pillow on the other side of the bed and put it on top of Levi’s to give him a little bit more to lean back on.

Levi fussed when Eren kissed his forehead, but Eren ignored him and went to grab the tray of food. Levi gratefully took it from Eren and grabbed the spoon that Eren provided. He wanted to be able to taste the presumably delicious meal that his husband made for him, but his tastebuds were as sick and useless as the rest of his senses. 

Eren stayed by him making sure that he didn’t spill anything on himself, and handed him a tissue whenever his nose started to run. He fished the soup and his tea in a short amount of time. “I’d kiss you as thanks, but I don’t want you to get sick.” He groaned out with a distorted voice due to his congestion. 

Eren nodded and took the empty tray from him. “It’s fine, love. Oh, and I forgot to grab some medicine from Hanji. I’m going to run out and get it.” Eren stood up with the tray and pulled the blanket back over Levi. “Just try to get some sleep, love.” He left the tissue box close by as he left the room and went to put the tray back in the kitchen.

He poured a generous amount of soap into the bowl and tea cup, and left them in the sink to soak. He left their kitchen and walked across the hall into the living room and added two logs to the dying fire before pulling his leather boots back onto his cold feet and pulling his coat over himself.

Once again, he ventured out into the cold and broke into a sprint. He didn’t pay attention to the birds and the deer that were out and about, all he needed was to get to Hanji’s office and grab Levi’s medicine. He did, however, notice that the sky was getting grayer. He picked up his pace so that he could get the medicine and get home before it started to snow.

When he ran into the building, he kept his coat on, as he would hopefully just be in and out. He dashed up the stairs and into Hanji’s office. He ran right into Commander Erwin’s chest.

The blonde quickly stopped him from falling, and helped him back to his feet. “You’re supposed to be home with your husband…” 

“I know, I just forgot to grab some medicine from Hanji.” He explained.

“How’s he doing?” Erwin nodded in understanding, and grabbed a little jar off of Hanji’s desk and handed it to Eren. There was a little note tied to it with twine that simply said ‘for Levi’ in Hanji’s messy writing. 

“He’s really congested and generally miserable.” Eren answered as he pocketed the jar. 

“How long till you think he’ll be back at work?” Erwin asked as he looked, rather, attempted to look through Hanji’s papers.

Eren gave a simple shrug. “A few days tops. I’ll be monitoring him and making sure he gets his medicine and rest.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Erwin nodded and resumed working. 

Eren took that as his que to step out and head back home. With the medicine in his coat pocket, he ran back through the woods to their house again. When he started to see flurries in the air, he ran a little quicker. He most certainly did not need to get caught in a snow storm right now. That fuckery could hold up for a minute.

He unlocked the door, took off his jacket and boots, closed the door, locked it. Eren walked into the living room and threw another log on the fire before walking halfway up the stairs, realizing that he forgot the medicine in his coat pocket. He sighed and went back down the stairs, fetched his coat, unbuttoned the pocket, grabbed the jar and ran back upstairs. He shook his head in frustration when he finally got to the bedroom. 

“Hey babe, I’m back…” He slowly opened the door and gasped at the cute sight before him. He had to stifle a giggle “Oh my gosh…” Levi was underneath an entire mountain of blankets, looking very tiny in comparison.

“Fuck off…” Levi growled out, still sounding sick and tired. 

Eren placed the jar on the nightstand and pushed the hair out of Levi’s eyes. “You’re so cute…”

Levi’s nose wrinkled and he rolled over to face the wall, rather than face his husband. “And you’re an asshole.”

“Are you really this cold?” Eren shook off Levi’s insult easily and was more concerned with his health more than anything. 

Levi paused for a moment and sighed before rolling over and facing Eren again.“Yes.”

Eren only smiled. “Would snuggling with me make you feel better?” To his delight, Levi reached out with little grabby hands for Eren, and who was Eren to deny him? He pulled back the blankets and crawled into bed with Levi and wrapped his arms tightly around his love. “How’s this?”

“Much better.” Levi sighed as he melted into his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you think!  
> The last chapter will go up tomorrow, ending the ereri winter weekend 'u'


	3. Ice Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi takes Eren out for some ice skating, and Eren finally realizes what he should get Levi for the winter holiday.

Levi kept his breathing even and steadied his hand as he did his paperwork in bed. He didn’t want to get ink all over the sheets. Normally, he would have been working in his office, but someone wanted him to be in bed instead. That someone being his recovering husband. 

Eren had been so wrapped up in taking care of Levi that he didn’t try to protect himself from getting sick. Levi had warned his husband not to kiss him, or to cuddle him, but Eren argued that love had the potential to be the best medicine. That, and the medicine Hanji got for him.

While Levi was worried about Eren being sick, it did at least allow the two to spend a lot more time together. It also allowed Levi to just stay home and be comfortable with someone he knew he could openly be the awkward dorky person he really was. When he was in his office he felt so much pressure to be the Captain and soldier everyone looked up to. But with Eren, he was just Levi.

Perhaps that’s one of the biggest reasons Levi fell in love with his husband. That, and Eren’s beautiful eyes, his fiery passion, and his total sincerity. Levi could feel his cheeks heating up and he glanced down at his husband that was in bed next to him.

Levi had made him take a nap, which really pissed Eren off. Eren would whine that he wasn’t a child, and Levi had to remind him that he was fucking sick and needed his rest. Eren whined some more, but eventually accepted his fate for the first time. The second time he asked for Levi to join him and the shorter man considered it for a while and let Eren spoon him. However, he immediately regretted it when he woke up and found that Eren had gotten snot all over the back of his neck. 

He wouldn’t let Eren hold him while he was sleeping from that point forward, however, he did lay next to Eren while he was napping. Which is why he was currently trying to work and not disturb his husband. He was up to his neck in paperwork, but thanks to Eren he couldn’t concentrate. Yeah, their little sickness vacation was kinda nice, but getting back to work would suck.

Levi sighed and capped his ink jar, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to finish the paperwork with Eren snoring so cutely next to him. He carefully leaned over his husband to put his stack of papers on the night stand, and placed the jar of ink on top so that the papers wouldn’t fly away.

He leaned back and let out a quiet yawn and looked down at his sleeping husband. He had gotten much better over the last few days, but Levi wouldn’t let him go back into work just yet. It had been two days since his temperature returned to normal, well normal for Eren, since he was slightly warmer than most humans. And it had been over a week since he had been outside. Levi had worried the cold would make the sickness worse, but keeping his husband inside only made him more upset. 

Levi let his hand absentmindedly brush Eren’s hair out of his face, and those beautiful green eyes slowly blinked open. Eren mumbled out a good morning and held Levi’s hand as he slowly woke up. Levi gave him all the time he needed and leaned back on the headboard and slowly let his eyes shut. 

Eren rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, he first looked over at Levi, glad to see that he was resting his eyes instead of doing more paperwork. Then he glanced out the window and saw that it was snowing gently. “Leeevi...” He whispered and tugged on his husband’s sleeve.

“What?”Levi asked, not opening his eyes, just resting a bit.

Eren decided to repeat himself. “Leevi-” 

Levi groaned and cut him off. “I said what?” His eyes opened and he stared into Eren’s brilliant green ones.

Eren smiled and pointed at the window.“I wanna go outside with you, it’s snowing.”

“You were sick not even two days ago. It’s not a good idea.” Levi reminded him, closing his eyes again.

“But babe…” Eren whined a little louder, making his husband sigh.

“Fine.” Levi swung his feet over the bed. As he stood up he glanced back at Eren over his shoulder. “Do you think the pond’s frozen over?” Eren looked back out at the window and back to his husband and nodded. 

Levi bit his lip, deep in thought, as he finally realized what he should do. He padded across their creaking floor and opened up their closet and pulled out a present he was going to give Eren for the winter holiday. No one really knew why there was a winter holiday to be celebrated within the walls, all they really knew was it had something to do with giving each other gifts over a short period of time, and being thankful for what little they all had. Levi’s birthday happened to fall in the winter holiday week.

Levi had already wrapped the gift, but he knew he still had a little bit of time to get Eren another gift. Now was a better time to give it to him. He pressed the box into Eren’s hands, his husband looked up at him confused. He grabbed some of the paper on the box and tugged at it, looking up at Levi for confirmation that he could open it. Levi nodded again and Eren tore into the paper with more enthusiasm. When he took the lid off the box, he gasped. Eren’s hands gently grasped the black, leather-laced boots and pulled them out of the box, careful to not let the blade on the sole slice his hand. He hadn’t had ice skates since he was a kid. He had such a thoughtful husband.

“I know it’s a bit early for gifts, but I wanted to get you some new skates after you told me about how you used to ice skate as a child. Hanji’s also been teaching me how to skate. I don’t know I just thought it would be nice to skate with you…” Levi’s voice trailed off as he started to rub the back of his neck. Goddamn, he was cute. 

But an amazing gift from Levi, meant that Eren needed to also give him an amazing gift. Eren had no fucking clue what to get Levi for the winter holiday, let alone his birthday. He internally sighed and knew he would have to cross that bridge when he got to it. 

“It’s a wonderful gift, Levi.” Eren smiled and pulled Levi into a kiss. His husband seemed to relax into the embrace and let out a gentle moan. 

When Levi pulled away, Eren followed him and got up out of bed to get dressed. Since the shorter man was already dressed, he decided to just head down stairs and gather up their coats, scarves, and mittens while Eren got ready. 

Eren pulled out a thick red sweater and put it over top of his usual soft long sleeved shirt. He considered changing out of the black pants that he was wearing, but they clung to his body in all the right places. He shook his head and looked in the mirror. He looked great.

He hurried down the stairs and took his military issued winter coat from Levi, who was already wearing his. His husband pulled a cute, little, green, knitted hat over his brown locks as he pulled his arms through the coat’s sleeves. As he was buttoning himself up, Levi gently wrapped a scarf around Eren’s neck, and tightened it. He struggled to pull on his boots while standing, and he could hear Levi giggling at how he was trying to jump around to keep his balance while he tugged on the leather. Levi pulled his scarf over his mouth once Eren was finished, and picked up the two pairs of skates. His husband slipped on some mittens and kissed Levi’s nose, and held the door open for him. Eren remembered to lock the door before catching up to Levi.

The snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked in silence together. It was peaceful. Occasionally they would stop and look at some of the bright red cardinals in the trees. The gentle silence allowed Eren to start to get lost in his thoughts as they walked along. 

He tried to think of things to get his husband. A new set of cleaning supplies? No, that would probably be appreciated, but everyone would be getting him that. Last year he got three new brooms for his birthday. Levi certainly wasn’t complaining, but Eren wanted to get him a present that stood out and would make his entire year. A new tea set might be nice, but he had already overheard Erwin talking to Hanji about getting one for him. Levi liked to read, but Eren wasn’t very good at picking out books for people. 

Eren internally sighed and decided to think about it later as the frozen pond came into view. Eren sat on the snow bank next to the ice and tugged off his boots. Levi handed him the larger pair of skates that he was holding, and Eren got to work lacing them up. He stood up easily on the blades, and took Levi’s hand as he finished lacing up his own skates. 

Eren pulled Levi onto the ice and helped him to keep steady. Levi’s legs were shaking at the unfamiliar feeling of being on the ice. When they were in the middle of the pond, Eren gently let go so that Levi could skate independently. Levi tried to skate forward but quickly slipped and fell on his ass. Eren muffled a giggle with his mitten-covered hand.  

Levi glared up at him and stretched out his hand, silently demanding his husband to help him back on his feet. Eren obliged and grabbed Levi by the mittens and pulled him back onto his skates. Levi’s legs wobbled, and Eren promised that he wouldn’t let go again.

The taller man skated backwards while holding on to his husband so he could get a hang of skating. Levi struggled for a while, but using Eren for support helped him enough that after an hour he was able to skate by himself. Eren smiled proudly as Levi skated around with much more grace than before, which wasn’t much. He stayed close by to catch him if he fell again.

And when Levi did eventually start to fall backwards, Eren quickly caught him in his arms and held him tight. His husband’s blush would deepen as Eren helped him back up. Eren let out a happy sigh, and saw it turn into a little white cloud before him.

Soon afternoon turned into the evening and the sun started to set. Eren took Levi’s hands in the middle of the pond and felt his heart swell after a little evening of fun with his husband. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the snowflakes dusting Levi’s hair, and the dying light of the sun making him glow. His breath came out in little white puffs from his chapped lips, and Eren didn’t hesitate to press his own lips against them. He held Levi tightly with one hand around his waist and another mitten covered hand against the back of his head. Levi in turn wrapped both of his arms around Eren’s shoulders, and lifted one of his legs.

When they separated, both of their faces were heavily flushed. Levi nodded his head back to the snowbank where they left their boots, and Eren guided him back over. They took off their skates carefully and put their leather boots back on, they were freezing after being left in the snow for hours.

Levi took one of Eren’s hands to start walking back to their house before it got dark, but Eren stopped and looked back at the setting sun. It was round, and golden, almost like a ring. He looked back at Levi and realized that maybe the only thing that he should give his husband, is a real honest ring. Not one from their arranged marriage, but one to symbolise the genuine love and affection he felt for the man in front of him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really fun to do!  
> I just wished I got a little bit more feedback.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Please feel free to tell me what you think, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow.


End file.
